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Turning On The Charm
The Guardian carries a breathless briefing from Simon Tisdall on how Washington has been wrongfooted by Iran's "charm offensive."
No, Tisdall doesn't mean the hundreds of Iranian women living in the west who turned up in Germany to cheer their team in the World Cup Finals (see our photo). Instead, he lists the nations who Tehran's theocratic government has schmoozed in recent weeks, in the hope of building a blocking alliance against US-led sanctions. China, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, "some North African states"... can you see a patten beginning to emerge here? Iran has also visited some of the "good guys" - Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan - though one might argue that it's in Tehran's interest to seek good terms with its nearest neighbours.
The Guardian reports that the Non-Aligned Movement and the Arab League support Iran's nuclear stance.
Such fervent diplomatic activity is hardly news: Iran sees itself as a leader in the Islamic world, and is a global player in the energy markets. China and Russia are enjoying American discomfort regarding Iran's nuclear program, but can ill-afford to sit back and allow Tehran to start an arms race in the region. The NAM - India, plus Africa, much of the Middle East and some of Latin America - likes the idea of the little guy sticking it to the US. However, privately NAM leaders are likely to be more cautious. Many are based in dangerous regions - indeed, many are the reason their region is dangerous - and the principle that anyone who wants it can have nuclear power, and then nuclear weapons, quickly raises the stakes in their regional conflicts. Same for the Arab League: They hate Israel, their citizens foam at the mouth with glee when preachers call for the destruction of the Jewish State - but the current stagnant status quo would be preferred to any danger of restarting retired Arab nuclear programs.
Indeed, many of these nations see Iran's rise as a threat. North Korea's current missile tantrum is a direct result of the Americans paying too much attention to Tehran. "Remember us?" - and the neighbouring nations are spooked. Does the Arab League really want Iran to start waving its missiles around to grab US attention in the same way?
A nation has a right to send its diplomats around the neighbouring regions and the globe to sell their country's story to sympathetic and rival states. Like so much else in the Middle East, there are many layers to Iran's actions which go beyond the nuclear crisis - energy, economics (oil has made Iran rich), regional power plays and rivalry, stability, reopening talks after years of mutual suspicion. It's misleading to present it as a triumphant assault on Washington.
